ABB is marking the 20th anniversary of its Shanghai Instrumentation factory which has supported the rapid growth of the automation market in China as well as the country’s economic development since 2004. More recently, the 10,000 m2 facility has also started serving ABB’s international customers.

The factory has a strong track record of commitment to innovation and quality. Through the years, it has continuously pushed boundaries to manufacture high-performance instrumentation that helps measure, analyze, control and improve a wide range of industrial processes. In 2004, the factory started with the manufacturing of a single product, one of ABB’s iconic pressure transmitters. Today, it has a large portfolio, producing pressure, flow, level, temperature, and analytical products.

“The growth of the factory reflects the rapid development of the automation market in China and globally,” said Susan Pan, Regional Manager, ABB Measurement & Analytics. “Reliable and accurate measurement as well as innovation are the backbone of industrial transformation. Our goal is to remain a reliable partner to our customers in China and beyond.”

Among the products manufactured by the Shanghai factory are some of ABB’s most advanced instrumentation solutions, including AquaMaster 4 Mobile Comms, the world’s first electromagnetic flowmeter with bidirectional connectivity as well as the FSS400 Swirl and FSV400 Vortex flowmeters, ABB’s first flowmeters with Ethernet-APL connectivity. Also made in Shanghai is the ProcessMaster, ABB’s recently launched next generation electromagnetic flowmeter that combines high performance, modularity and IoT connectivity. In addition to developing engineering and manufacturing know-how, the factory has invested in digitalization, smart technologies and expansion of calibration capabilities.

Today, it houses the largest fluid and air calibration rigs in ABB, both holding extensive certification (including IEC and SIMT) and capacity. With a unique 24-hour calibration device, the factory is considered a flowmeter calibration center of excellence. At the same time, the air calibration rig, built to increase instrumentation gas application accuracy and consisting of four vacuum pumps and 17 sonic nozzles, allows a continuous flow adjustment range of 1 to 7000 m^3/h.

In its pursuit of creating world-leading products, the factory has received recognition from the market as well as from within ABB on multiple occasions. In 2023, the team received the “Manufacturer of the Year” award at the Instrumentation Excellence Awards for ground-breaking work in producing and calibrating a supersized electromagnetic flowmeter with a three-meter diameter. In 2021, the team won the Red Dot Design Award for its Ultrasonic Level Transmitter and in 2016 it received the ABB CEO Silver Excellence Award.

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